Konoyo

by Tim Hecker

Overview

Tim Hecker recorded most of Konoyo in Japan, working with members of the gagaku ensemble Tokyo Gakuso, who play a variety of traditional wind and percussion instruments. Hecker's previous album, Love Streams, featured vocals by an Icelandic choir, who sang in a nonsensical language and were twisted into bizarre, alien forms. Hecker does similar business with the gagaku ensemble on Konoyo, sometimes rendering the source material nearly unrecognizable, letting it seep through the mix in subtle ways. The album is informed by ideas of negative space, and there's certainly more of a sense of restraint here compared to other Hecker releases, and not as much charred feedback. That said, there's still an enormous amount of detail to these highly immersive sonic constructions. Opening with distressed siren-like tones which slowly swoop down, "This Life" features woozy clusters of notes which bring to mind Arca's melodies, with frayed distortion bubbling up and swerving around, as well as a tangible sense of things being physically pushed and pulled. The acoustic instruments are much clearer on "In Death Valley," which has delicately plucked strings and knocking drums joined by the sideways thud of Hecker's scattered, crystalline synths. Tracks such as "Keyed Out" are punctuated with high-frequency whistling from instruments such as the ryuteki and the sho. These tones can seem disarming at first, but they contribute to the urgency of the music, in addition to feeling like glimpses into a distant past. Konoyo takes several listens to fully appreciate, as do most Hecker releases, but it's another excellent example of the distinct mixture of bleakness and majesty which he excels at creating. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	09/28/2018
Label:	Kranky
UPC:	0796441821921

Tracks

1. This Life
2. In Death Valley
3. Is a Rose of the Dying Crimson Light
4. Keyed Out
5. In Mother Earth Phase
6. A Sodium Codec Haze
7. Across to Anoyo

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tim Hecker   Primary Artist,Guitar (Electric),Synthesizer
Mariel Roberts   Cello
Kara-Lis Coverdale   Keyboards
Takuya Koketsu   Ryuteki
Fumiya Otonashi   Sho
Motonori Miura   Hichiriki

Technical Credits

Jake Viator   Tape Transfer
Julia Kennedy   Assistant
Ben Frost   Assistant,Engineer
Matt Colton   Mastering,Cut
Tim Jones   Assistant
Tim Hecker   Composer
Brian Foote   Assistant
Paul Corley   Assistant
Ayako Sanjo   Coordination,Translation,Assistant
Samuel Strang   Assistant
Toshihiko Kasai   Engineer
Akihiro Iizuka   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Tobias Spichtig   Artwork,Photography
Teo Schifferli   Design